The Darkest Prison
by DabaMbang
Summary: Post Thor 2:TDW. Loki/Sigyn interactions. She attempts to free him from his darkest prison - that of his rage.
1. Chapter 1

**Inky Blackness**

She studied the pale man in the cell. "So much rage", she thought to herself. "How does he stay sane?"

"My lady?" a voice in her head echoed. "May I ask what you are doing?"

"Observing, Heimdall. Just observing." She replied silently.

She could tell Heimdall was not happy with this reply. "I am leaving now. Sorry for the intrusion." she replied to the voice in her head. And she disappeared.

The pale man never noticed her.

* * *

Odin strode into his private chambers and cast off his cloak in an impatient move. As he did so, his presence changed from that of an old, white haired king, to that of a tall, thin, pale man, half his age, dressed in all black. Loki found the pretense increasingly tiring, though he was unsure exactly what to do about it. He threw himself into a chair, wearily, glad for the opportunity to be alone.

"Hello, Loki." A voice came from directly in front of him.

*Flash* An explosion rocked from Loki's fingers on the wall where the sound came from.

"Nice aim, Loki." The voice sounded warmly appreciative. "But I have no intentions to harm you."

While Loki looked on warily, a woman dressed in a soft blue dress and cloak appeared.

"Sigyn", Loki breathed a sigh of relief. He then looked suspicious. "What are you doing here?"

The lady smiled, "I could ask the same of you."

Loki glared at her. "What do you want?"

Sigyn could feel the tension in the room. He was like a cat, ready to attack.

Holding her hands open, she stepped towards the God, with a soft smile, "I am not going to betray your identity, Loki. You have nothing to fear from me."

Looking still suspicious, Loki relaxed, and repeated his question. "What do you want, Sigyn?" he said, with a sharp tone.

"To rescue you from this prison you are in. "

Loki looked confused, and then laughed. He sat back and crossed his leg, while saying "I think you are too late! I have already escaped from prison, if you hadn't noticed. "

"I didn't mean Odin's vaults, Loki." Sigyn stepped one more step towards her old friend. "I meant the prison you have trapped yourself in." She looked at Loki for a long while. When he made no comment, she continued, "The prison of your rage. It consumes you and will destroy you."

Loki looked at her as though she were mad. He then started to laugh, a cold, cruel laugh. "What? My rage? Are you joking?"

Sigyn smiled at his laughter, but not in a cruel way. She seemed genuinely pleased to hear his laughter, even though it was clearly mocking her.

When he had stopped laughing, a tense silence hung between them. Loki hissed, "Tell me about my _rage_."

"Your rage has trapped you here. In a form of the person you despise most in the world, in a kingdom that will only be yours while you are its false king. You will never rule as YOU, Loki. Only as a pretender."

Loki stared at her with understanding and hatred.

"You are alone, with no one to council you, as it is too dangerous. All the people you have loved are dead or hate you. Your name is spat upon by your subjects right in front of you every day."

"And I get the feeling that day to day life as Odin has started to lose its appeal."

Sigyn waved a hand and started to disappear. "You know where to find me when you get too tired of this… game." And was gone.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Sigyn was enjoying the dirt in her hands, as she prepared the garden for its next season. Concentrating on her work, she did not miss the signal from her magic that Loki approached.

Not looking up, she called out "I am impressed! I thought you would only last another month or so."

Loki leaned on the gate to her garden, looking both amused and irritated at the same time. "I have more stamina than you expected?"

Sigyn laughed and wiped her hands on her apron. "You waited as long as you could just to spite me, didn't you?" When she noticed the twitch on Loki's face, she laughed again. "Rage!" she wagged her finger at him, taking a step closer to the Go.

Loki swiped at her finger, and said "Stop that. I am here because I am curious, and yes, I am bored. Visiting you is better than anything else I have at the moment. "

Sigyn smiled at his words. "Come in! Mead? Tea?" indicating he should follow her as she walked into the small stone cottage.

Loki looked at the building he had not been to for several years. Why a goddess wanted to live in such a simple and rude dwelling was beyond him, especially as she was always welcome at court. But Sigyn had always been odd. Born of common stock to a merchant family, she had been elevated to Goddess when she married one of his distant cousins – a man twice her age who died less than a year in a skirmish on the borders. No one really knew why he married her, as she had been an older bride and certainly not prized for her looks. She was quiet unless she was very amused or angry, and then she was very loud. Mercilessly honest, but also held her tongue when it suited her. On the plainer and stouter side of most Asgardian women, she certainly did nothing to improve her looks through clothing or even illusions. And she wasn't around much, preferring the quiet company of her cottage to court events.

But she had been one of the few Asgardians who he felt any warmth with, who didn't seem to regard him with utter loathing. He even enjoyed chatting with her now and again, as she was intelligent with a quick wit, even if she was a bit _earnest_ for his tastes.

And she knew magic. She loved magic and wasn't afraid of it or ashamed of it like so many of his peers did. But for some reason, she didn't perform it often in public. He sometimes felt very showy in comparison. But he also knew that his magic skills were 1000s times more powerful than hers, and would most likely always be. He liked that, he thought to himself.

"Mead." Loki replied when sitting at her kitchen table. She poured him a glass, and then herself one while she sat down. "Made from my own honey from my bees. Please let me know what you think. I am experimenting with the recipe."

Loki rolled his eyes. "I am not here for tasting lessons, Sigyn. "

"Business it is!" she smiled. She looked at the pale, black haired man for a long while. Her smile faded and she grew serious. She looked at him in the eyes, unflinching.

"First I have a question for you before we can continue. Is Odin alive?"

Loki looked at her for a long time. He understood the importance of his answer was great, but not why. Slowly he looked around the room, leaned back in his chair, put his hand to his chin and replied, languidly, "Yes".

Sigyn sighed and smiled, "Good. I presume you have placed him somewhere safe and protected. Don't worry, I am not about to ask you where he is. "

The blond woman folded her hands in front of her glass of mead, stared into the cup for a moment, and then looked back up at Loki, again, focused on his eyes.

"You are a prisoner by your anger and fear. It has been leading you to destruction and it will eventually consume you. You are a danger to yourself and to others because of it, and I want to help you become free. But only if you want to be free."

Loki stared at her in incredulity. "If I am so dangerous, why are you not afraid of me? I could kill you now?"

Sigyn shrugged, replying "I know. It is a risk I take. I also take the risk of not telling the others about you and Odin. Thor would have you executed and me with you for conspiring. "

A long silence sat between them.

"Why, Sigyn. Why do you want to help me escape from my prison?" Loki asked sarcastically.

The woman smiled at Loki, ignoring the sarcasm, and ran her hand through her hair. "I have two reasons, one selfless and one selfish. The selfless one is what I already said. You are a danger to all the 9 realms and you must be stopped. "

Sigryn finished the rest of the mead in her cup. "My selfish reason is that I want to help you break free. If I were truly selfless, I would help Thor and Odin keep you prisoner or even have you killed so you could be removed as a threat. "

Sigryn paused, studying her cup before she set it down and looked back at Loki.

"But I cannot do that. I want you free. "

Loki looked at her incredulously, angry. "Why? Why on earth do you want **me** free?"

Sigyn looked at him, blinking back tears. "Because I want you back. The boy who taught me my first illusions. The man who helped his family time and time again. The Loki I know who is inside that prison of anger and fear", she spat out angrily, pointing at his chest. "I want HIM BACK."

Loki swatted away her hand, and quickly rose from the table. "You are mad. I am Loki. This is who I am and who I always was. You don't know me at all and you never have. You have always been too _romantic_ for your own good," he sneered.

Sigyn looked at him for a long while. She gave a half smile and walked over to him. "A romantic? I guess so. But this is what I believe and I am staking my life on it." She reached up and kissed him on the cheek. "What are you willing to stake your life on? "


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter three

Loki, disguised as Odin, sat in the throne room, listening to courtiers drone on and on about some trade treaty. His mind wandered back, as it did frequently, to his conversation with Sigyn.

"Give my life for?" he thought. "I have already given so much. Too much. I am just trying to survive." He thought, impatiently. "What does SHE know? Nothing! She knows nothing of what I have been through. Her arrogance! How DARE she?"

Finally, the day was over and he could retire to his quarters. The long boring meetings had worsened his mood. He paced back and forth, muttering to himself about her arrogance. Finally, he deciding he needed to confront Sigyn again. He was angry, very angry, and he wanted someone to take it out on.

He found himself outside her garden a few moments later. The moon was near to setting. "Good", he thought. "She will be asleep." He angrily strode through the garden. "I will teach her."

He entered her house, silently, and made his way to her room. He opened the door with a deft practice of someone used to sneaking around, and found himself standing over her body. His entire body started to shake with rage.

"Hello, Loki." She said.

He reached down to grab her, but she wasn't there.

"I may have said I am staking my life on you, but I am not stupid. Or suicidal" she said, amused, from the corner of the room.

Loki gave off a growl and leapt towards her voice.

"Why are you here, Loki?" she said, from another part of the room. "Why am I such a threat to you?"

"SHUT UP, WITCH!" Loki screamed, and pounced again towards the sound of her voice.

"Aren't you proving my point? Your rage is making you chase me around a little room, in a little cottage, in a small forest in the middle of nowhere. Because I said something so horrible that you need to hurt me? "she said, her voice seeming to come from the ceiling.

Loki collapsed on the bed, shaking, rolled in a ball.

Sigyn sat on the bed next to him, and put her hand on his shoulder. "I am not hear to hurt you. But my words are causing you fear. I want you to ask yourself why."

Loki stared at the blackness of the wall in front of him. In a calm, resigned voice, he said "I am not a prisoner of my rage; my rage is all there is of me. Without it, I disappear."

Sigyn smiled to herself. They sat in silence for a few minutes.

"Loki, why didn't you kill Odin?" she asked gently.

Loki lay without moving or talking for a long time. "I thought I may need him." He finally said.

"I don't believe you." She replied, while gently kneading his shoulder. "If all that was left was your rage, he would be dead. Thor would be dead; you could see to that, now. I would be dead. Asgard would be in ruins." She brushed his hair on the back of his neck. "No, you prize Asgard, and part of you wants your father and brother to know what you have done. "

Loki shuddered at the touch of her hand, but didn't brush it away like he normally would. "You are too romantic, I told you. I may have use of all of you. "

"But Loki," she said, standing up and waving a hand to turn up the lights in the room, "Rage is irrational. Fear is impulsive. It has no time for plans and options and alternatives. Even if you saved us due to scheming and manipulations, and not due my romantic notions, that is still not rage."

He looked up at her, blinking. She was right. It was rage that drove him to her home that night, but rage was stupid. Of course he could never attack her in her own home; she had magic defenses. And part of him knew that.

He was out of control of his own actions, and he hated it. He hated being a victim to his emotions.

"How can I control this?" he asked quietly, turning to look at her. "I need to control it. "

Sigyn sat down next to him on the bed. "Yes, you do. I can help."

"How? "

She smiled at him with a wide open smile "I have NO idea!"

He looked at her incredulously, and for the first time in a very long time started to laugh. A genuine laugh.

Sigyn looked exceptionally pleased with his laughter.

Loki looked at her and said, laughing "You are completely mad! No plan? What are you THINKING? You are foolhardy!"

She brushed his hair from his face and shrugged. "You are the one with the plans. I just know what I need to do and then do it. "

Sigyn stood up and said "Tea? I need a cup!" and walked out.

Loki stared after her. "She is mad!" he said to the empty room. And then got up to join her at the kitchen table.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

The snow was piling up at the window, but the cottage felt very warm and snug. Loki hated winter at the castle as the rooms felt so drafty. While he didn't mind the cold, he found big open spaces made him uncomfortable. Since autumn had blasted into winter, he found himself at Sigyn's kitchen table more and more as soon as he could get away from court.

He didn't certainly didn't feel like he was getting closer to controlling his rage. He was angry all the time, and people at court were starting to notice. Thor had even had a conversation with him about needing to start healing from his grief (and guilt) over Frigga and Loki.

So he bottled it up, which hurt. But things still weren't going the way he had planned. And that frustrated him.

When he had first taken over Odin's form, it had been taking advantage of an opportunity, rather than a concrete plan. Who could have guessed that his brother would betray his father and break him out of his cell? Faking his death was simple, as was being left alone with Odin. He even remembered how to trigger the Odinsleep (though he suspected his father was weakened by his wife's death).

Transporting Odin away from Asgard without anyone noticing was a bit more challenging, but nothing Loki hadn't done before. The old man was safe and well looked after, ready for when he needed him again.

But once he had executed all of his plans, it had seemed too easy. And a let down. At first, his head was full of flames and blood and victory, but his days were made up of treaties and laws and boring boring boring boring meetings. In the first few months, he tried on a few occasions to find an excuse to fight against another of the realms, but quickly realized that if he pushed too far, his counselors would realize he was not the real Odin. They followed him everywhere he went and the only time he was left alone was at night, but there were guards surrounding his doors.

He really was trapped. She was right. And he hated that.

If he hadn't been training for sneaking around the castle from an early age, he probably would have gone mad. He had to use all of his powers to get out to visit Sigyn once in awhile. Teleportation and projection were his saviors, along with understanding how to hide from Heimdall.

At her kitchen table, he could let down his guard and not have to bottle up all his feelings and pretend to be his father. It resulted sometimes in him raging at her, screaming at her and insulting her, which she either ignored or seemed to be amused by. Oddly, it didn't make him angrier at her response; instead it calmed him. She saw this as a form of progress in working on his rage.

He pretended to agree with Sigyn, mainly to placate her. He admitted he enjoyed her company, despite his angry words. She was sometimes so simple minded and in the next moment blindingly insightful. She was very interesting, he admitted to himself.

And she clearly enjoyed his presence, which he was not used to. Even when he was rude and insulting, she never flinched or seemed to take offense, but also never accepted his words as true. She seemed to know and accept him as he was, which made him both uneasy and happy.

But they seemed to have reached an impasse as she tried to figure out how to help him with his anger.

On this day, as he sat at her table, she placed a hot cup of tea in front of him, and excitedly said, "I have an idea. Can I try something? It may be unpleasant for you."

Loki looked at her. "In what way?"

"I want to plant a memory in your head. A false one but one that could have been true. You will know at all times that it is not real, but it will feel real. I can only do this with your full permission."

"What is the memory of?"

"I cannot tell you before you receive it or else it won't work. "

"And what is the point of this?"

"I want to see what happens if you feel something you haven't felt in a long time. If ever." Loki looked concerned. "No, it won't be a bad feeling. Not a bad memory. A happy one."

She looked so earnest and excited about her idea, he felt like placating her some more. So childlike at times, he thought.

"Fine! Go ahead. "

"Great!" She took the tea away from him and replaced it with a cup full of what looked like wine.

"What is this?" Loki looked at the cup suspiciously.

"Wine. It loosens the mind."

He drank down the cup in one quick gulp and slammed it on the table a bit harder than he intended to.

"Go head, witch." He said, half mocking. "Plant a memory"

She stood behind him while he sat at the table, and placed her hands on his head. "Be still please".

_Grey clouds swirled around his head, as flashes of color and movement drifted by. He felt himself becoming younger, a child. Outside his parents chambers, looking up at the door handle. He felt young, but not a baby. Young. 8 or 9? _

_And then he heard voices. His mother's voice. Hearing it, Loki the man felt a stab of pain to his gut. _

_"You are so hard on him! It isn't fair." Frigga was saying passionately. _

_"Of course I am, I am his father, and he needs to do better!" Odin's voice, younger than Loki the man remembered, replied, defensively to his wife._

_"He will do fine on his own terms. He is not Thor. He is not Asgardian. But that doesn't mean he isn't worthy." Loki realized with a start they were talking about him. His mother's words felt like another stab in the gut. _

_"Of course he is worthy. I just need him to be different…"_

_"You make him feel him like a failure." Frigga spat at him._

_"I don't mean to. I am just worried for his future. If he is to be King of Asgard, he must behave and act a certain way."_

_"But what if he cannot? What if what you want from him he cannot be? "_

_Odin shook his head. "Then, Frigga I am not the father he needs or deserves. But I am all he has. And I fear I won't be good enough for him."_

The vision disappeared. Loki sat in stunned silence.

_I won't be good enough for him._

The words echoed in his mind. A sense of hope flooded his body and mind. He sat in silence turning the feeling over and over in his mind.

After ten minutes, he turned to Sigyn and leapt at her, grabbing her arms.

"LIAR! YOU, EVIL, HORRIBLE LIAR!" He shook her. "HOW DARE YOU! You MOCK ME!"

Sigyn calmly looked at him in the eyes. "I told you it could be upsetting. And I never told you it was true. It could possibly to be true."

"NEVER! " Loki wrenched himself away from Sigyn. "IT could NEVER be true!"

"Why not? " Sigyn asked calmly.

"be be because, he was always ashamed of me. Always. And it was my fault. I was the one who was unworthy. The monster. The FROST GIANT baby, remember?" he spat at Sigyn. Loki paced the room as the ranted about his father. "My father could never admit he was anything less than perfect!"

"How did the memory make you feel?" Sigrn asked firmly, cutting off Loki in mid rant.

"Feel?"

"Yes, before your mind questioned it. While you sat in silence."

Loki sat, looking introspective. He looked up in surprise and wonder.

"Hopeful" he said in a near whisper.

Sigyn smiled and walked over to him, putting his arms around him in his chair. "Good", she whispered in his ear. "That is what I wanted to give you. A moment of hope."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter five

Loki found himself dwelling on the false memory Sigyn had planted in his head. He knew it was fake but it touched him in some way he found hard to understand. He tried to remain angry about it, angry at her, but he just couldn't. The hope it gave him was too profound and too needed for him to abandon it.

Loki felt unsettled by everything. He was used to being ignored or loathed. Being treated with respect by the Asgardians he could handle because he knew it was not really for him, but Sigyn's openness and apparent ease at his presence unnerved him when he thought about it. She had no hesitation in touching him lightly or kissing his cheek or forehead, which he found himself starting to expect and even enjoy when he was not thinking about it. So he just stopped thinking about it.

When he was at her cottage, she often put him to work on chores around the place. Most of which he could (and sometimes did) use magic to achieve, but she seemed to like to work with her hands. When he asked her about it, she shrugged and said she liked the soothing nature of manual labor at times. He did notice that she never washed the dishes nor the floors, but they were always clean.

She had a spare bedroom she gave him to sleep in when he desired, but on the rare occasion when he did stay (usually when he appeared in the middle of the night), they usually shared a bed. It was never planned; she had taken to massaging his shoulders after some heavy labor as a thank you, and sometimes they both ended up falling asleep next to each other. Nothing untoward ever happened, though he did find himself waking up before her so he could watch her sleep from time to time. Her sleeping face was full of peace. And he wanted more of that.

But she also could make him very angry. She asked him one day about why he hated Thor so much. He started to rant about how Thor had always made him feel second class. "You don't know what it is like, having a brother like Thor, knowing you will never be good enough! A father who always looks down on you!"

She looked at him, astonished, but also with a knowing look. "Really? I have no idea what it is like? Oh, poor Loki, the only one who has ever felt unappreciated and diminished." She drawled sarcastically.

He took offence and stormed out, determined not to return. And he stayed away for several weeks.

One afternoon during a meeting of his ministers, Loki, disguised as Odin, caught something out of the corner of his eye. He excused himself from the bickering men, and followed the movement out into an antechamber.

Sigyn appeared to him, looking very excited. "I realized I wanted to show you something and I didn't know when you were coming back. When are you coming?"

Loki looked at her and looked around. The guards stationed at the end of the hall didn't seem to be noticing anything, but he needed to be careful. "Tonight. I will come tonight. Leave!"

When he arrived at the cottage, he was annoyed at her. "She could have betrayed his identity! Why didn't she just stay at the cottage and wait for him!" he thought as he entered the garden.

"Good! You are here!' She said as the door swung open. And before he could open his mouth to chastise her for her visit, she looked at him squarely and said "Don't be ridiculous. I was projecting. No one could see me but you. "

Chagrined, he looked down. After all, he had been the one to teach her that trick.

"Okay, I want to give you another memory. But this one is real. It is mine. "

Loki smiled, as one smiles at a pet or child.

Sigyn snapped at him, "This is important to me. This was a very important moment in my life. Treat it with respect." And with that, she put her hands on his head.

_Grey swirls again with new colors and flashes and he is outside the cottage looking through a window. He is a girl, Sigyn, he presumes. He feels like he is age 13 or 14 but it is hard to tell._

_He hears voices coming from inside. A man's voice, angry. _

"_Magic is inappropriate for a young lady, and for a member of this family!"_

"_She has a gift! She loves it! You want her to hide it away?" replies a woman, pleading._

"_YES! And before you start, I don't care about the Queen and the prince. They are royalty, we are not. Magic is dangerous. SHE is dangerous. "_

"_Sigyn is not dangerous!"_

"_Yes, she is. She nearly burned down the house playing with those fire spells. And the neighbors are getting suspicious. No, my word is final. As long as your daughter lives in MY house, no more magic. If I see or hear about magic, she is out. And you with her." and with that, the man storms out of the room._

_Running, running through the forest, crying. Bushes and trees tearing at clothing. Falling in a meadow. Sobbing into the earth._

_It feels like a year goes by but a soft noise can be heard. _

"_Hello?" a pale boy, black hair puts his hand on her back. "Are you okay?"_

"_I'm fine" the girl looks up and wipes her face quickly. "All fine. Sorry." She tries to stop crying but is having a hard time. She smiles at the boy. _

"_Oh, okay." The boy looks nervously, not wanting to leave but not wanting to pry. _

"_Hey, do you want to see magic trick? I can do magic!"_

_She shrinks back "No, it is forbidden!"_

_The boy shrugs his shoulders, "Sure, but what people don't know won't hurt them, right? I do lots of forbidden things" he says with a grin. _

_And for the next hour, he proceeds to show her how to perform illusions. _

The clouds fell away, and Loki sat still, trying to understand what he had seen. He looked at Sigyn who was looking at him expectantly.

"I don't remember that." Loki told her quietly.

Sigyn sighed and said "I didn't think so."

"Prince Loki, you are not the only person who has ever been rejected for who they are. But unlike you, I was a fatherless _girl - _and a commoner at that! Destined to be a servant or married off at will to whomever would have me. I had nothing without my magic. Having that taken away from me would have been the death of my soul. But continuing it would have meant my mother and brothers and sisters being abandoned, even dying. "

"Meeting you was life saving for me. You were the first person I had met who knew magic, real magic. You taught me so much. And you made it okay to hide it. You showed me that I was more than just a silly girl to be told what to do. "

She turned away from him and said "I will always thank you for that."


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

And so winter turned into spring. Even when the weather was still cold and wet, Sigyn could be found in her garden, hands covered in mud, preparing the ground for plants. Loki would turn up without any pattern every week or so, any time during the day or night; he started looking for alone moments at court and instantly would use them to get away. Some days, they would just dig in the earth, chatting about nothing important. They shared a few memories of childhood. Loki loved to share his favorite pranks with her, and she would fall over, choking with laughter. Through this, he realized that while she was kind, she also had a wicked sense of humor.

He started playing little tricks on her. He started off with hiding things or masking them with illusions, or waking her in the middle of the night and making her think she was still asleep. She took in as good fun, until one day she got him back. She managed to trick him into upending an entire pot of piss over his head in the garden. As he stood there glaring at her, she fell on the ground laughing at him. Until finally, he started to laugh at himself.

But he still had the rages. They were more infrequent but they were there, she knew. Whenever she gently broached certain subjects, such as Thor, Odin, his future, or Midgard, he was transported into rage and fury. And he had not moved forward at all in his playing of fake Odin.

Loki had nightmares, she knew. The nights he slept at her cottage, she saw him tossing and even screaming in his sleep. When she asked him about them, he seemed to not remember them. She didn't think he was lying, either. He seemed genuinely unable to remember.

She had another idea. "Loki, I need to know what terrifies you so much in your sleep."

He looked surprised at her. "And how do you plan on doing that?" he asked.

"I think there is a way we can join minds in sleep. It is like a combination of the projection and memory sharing. We can try it. "

Loki shrugged his shoulders to look nonchalant but in reality, he was disturbed. Just because he didn't remember his dreams didn't mean he did not have a good idea what they were about. He didn't want to share those thoughts with anyone. He made his excuses and left the cottage.

The thought unnerved him. He found himself rattled by the idea of sharing his dreams with anyone, especially her. But he couldn't keep away from his one sanctuary, so he tried to stay away in the evenings, but the middle of the night was the best time for him to visit. Multiple times, he tried to think of a good way to dissuade her without making her more determined, but he failed. He suspected it wouldn't work anyway.

He finally acquiesced. Part of him was hopeful that it would help bring him some more peace. Part of him was terrified of what would happen.

That night, they both drank two glasses of wine to help loosen the mind, as Sigyn said. They climbed into her bed and she placed her head next to his head. "I am not sure this is going to be very comfortable." Loki commented sardonically. "Shut up." She replied as she tweaked his ear.

"Now what?" he whispered.

"Fall asleep", she replied. And quickly she was softly snoring away.

_Pain. Fire. Smoke. Choking. Cold. Metal. Blood. Fear. Rage_

_Pain. Fire. Smoke. Choking. Cold. Metal. Blood. Fear. Rage_

___Pain. Fire. Smoke. Choking. Cold. Metal. Blood. Fear. Rage_

_Pain. Fire. Smoke. Choking. Cold. Metal. Blood. Fear. Rage_

___Pain. Fire. Smoke. Choking. Cold. Metal. Blood. Fear. Rage_

_PAIN FEAR RAGE_

Sigyn woke up screaming.

She was shaking, sobbing and screaming, Loki sat straight up, not entirely sure where he was or what was happening. When he realized he was in her bed, in the early hours of the morning, he realized it had worked. And it was much worse than he feared. Sigyn was overwhelmed with fear and pain. She couldn't speak, just scream and shake. Instinctively, he put his arms around her to comfort her.

"They TORTURED you!" She grabbed his arms and looked into his eyes. "TORTURED YOU! Why did you not tell us! How could they DO THAT?"

He pulled away from her, blinking back tears, but not letting go of her eyes. She knew. She had seen.

He didn't want her to see. He didn't want anyone to see.

She lunged at him, holding him, crying, sobbing, "Oh Loki, oh, Loki, what they did to you. Why? They have to pay. They have to pay for what they did. Why didn't you tell us?"

After awhile he calmed her down, whispering soothing words into her ear and laid her on the bed. "I am so sorry." He whispered to her.

"It isn't fair!" she replied to him. "So much pain!"

Her words cut through him like a knife, but where there should have been pain, was warmth. Someone understood. Someone knew.

They slept wrapped around each other all night, not daring to let the other go.

He knew he had to return to court but he didn't want to leave her. So he stayed. He didn't care of they were looking for him. He couldn't leave her.

She didn't wake at her usual hour, but rather slept fitfully. He sat and watched over her, feeling like he had to protect her. He knew what she had seen.

It was a taste of the long year he had spent in the power of Thantos.

She woke late in the day. When he heard her wake up, he wandered out of the kitchen into her bedroom. He handed her a cup of tea and some bread and butter and sat next to her on the edge of the bed. She looked terrible.

She sat up in bed, looking at him. "Why didn't you tell us?"

Loki looked at his hands. "I don't know. "

He sat thoughtfully. She knew he had more to say so she sipped her tea and nibbled on her bread.

"No one asked, you know." He looked at her with a wry smile. "Not my father, or brother or even mother. None asked where I was or what had happened to me. They all just were more than happy to believe …" he lapsed into silence, staring out the window.

"Believe that you did those things to Midgard because you were a monster," Sigyn completed for him.

"Yes" Loki said softly. He gave her another pained smile. "So what point was there in telling anyone? It wouldn't have mattered as they clearly thought me well capable of evil on my own."

Sigyn reached out her hand. "I didn't. I never did. I knew there was something else."

Loki looked at Sigyd. "Why?"

Sigyd said "I just knew."

They stared at each other for a long time. Sigyd broke the silence by saying angrily, "And they must suffer for what they did. HOW can we make them SUFFER?"

Loki had never seen her so angry. She was terrifying, he admitted, and he certainly would never want to be on the receiving end of her rage. It was even more touching as it was for his benefit.

"I never thought of you as a vengeful person." Loki said to her.

She smiled wryly, "people always think I am sweet and kind and that is all there is to me. But hurt someone I love, and I will destroy you. "

Loki blinked. He put his hands on her shoulders. "Someone you love?" he asked quietly.

She looked up at him with surprise. "Of course!" she paused and continued, "Loki, why do you think I am doing all of this?"

Open mouthed, he said "but, why didn't you tell me?"

She tilted her head and replied, "Because I thought you knew? Or would figure it out. After all, what is the point of telling someone you love them, when what counts is showing them."

Loki gently placed his hands on the back of her head and reached in to kiss her.

And then he started to cry.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Loki didn't care about court any longer. He never wanted to leave Sigyn's side. They had spent the day wrapped in each other's arms, him crying out all the pain he felt. She soothed his forehead, kissed him now and again, and whispers soothing noises to him. Every time he thought he was done, another wave came upon him, and he was swept under again.

In the end, he cried for two entire days.

He awoke in a dark room. He had no sense of time, but he could see a thin light under the door. The bed was empty next to him.

He stood and walked into the kitchen. Sigyn was sitting at the table with her back to him, reading one of his magic books.

"So THAT is how you do the teleporting trick! I never seem to be able to get the hang of it." She said to Loki, not turning around.

"I will teach you, if you like." He said softly, as he put his arms around her from behind. He found himself kissing her neck, as she leant into him. She made a soft noise indicating she enjoyed the feeling.

"Come to bed." He said softly in her ear. She looked up at him and smiled.

"Yes, my love." And she let him lead her to the bedroom.

A little twinge of guilt woke him the next day. It had been four days since he had last been at court. Clearly, it was over. But waiting to be discovered was stressful; how long before they figured it out? How long before they started looking for Odin? For him?

He didn't have long to wait. While working in the garden, Sigyn called out to him, "Come inside. Someone is coming. "

He hurried indoors. He knew her magic would prevent them from seeing inside the building, but the garden was too exposed.

"I should leave", he said to her.

She shot him a nasty look. "Don't be ridiculous. There is no where safer in the nine realms than my cottage, and you know that. Sit. I will take care of this."

As she headed to the door, she turned and winked at him, "I am going to enjoy this."

As Fandral and his men approached her gate, Sigyn slowly walked to the garden gate. As Fandral dismounted, he acknowledged her with a "my Lady Sigyn!"

"Fandral, correct? It has been awhile. What brings you here?"

The soldier smiled faintly, replying "We seek Odin."

Sigyn looked at him with astonishment. "And you think he is HERE? The Allfather hasn't been here in… ever!"

Fandral rolled his eyes. "The Allfather is missing. Surely you heard?"

Sigyn smiled weakly. "I don't get many visitors. I don't hear much."

"We have reason to believe Loki is involved." Said the soldier.

Sigyn burst out laughing. "And here I thought he was dead! Shows you how out of touch I am. When did he reappear to the living?"

The men looked at each other uncomfortably. Fandral sighed and said "All we know is that the Allfather is missing and it looks like he was taken. We are following every lead."

"And what leads you here?" Sigyn replied, curiously.

"You visited Loki in his prison before his escape."

"Which you helped him with, if rumor is accurate…" Sigryn happily pointed out.

Fandral breathed in deeply, clearly annoyed. He continued, "Did you not visit Loki in prison?"

Sigyn looked at him and said, "I wouldn't say visited, really. I never spoke to him nor did he know I was there. But yes, I did observe him in his cell. " She paused, looking at the soldiers. "I presume Heimdall told you this?"

Fandral said nothing but looked back at his men.

Suddenly becoming very friendly, she said "It is such a warm day! Would your men like some mead? I have a new batch just brewed. My own honey from my bees! A bit of spring taste, too. One moment", and before Fandral could finish saying no, she was inside the house.

She walked to the counter and winked at Loki while picking up the jug of mead. "I am having fun" she whispered to him. He silently laughed at her mirth.

"Here we are" she said joyfully. As she reached the first soldier, she exclaimed, "Oh, cups! No matter!" And waved her hand. 4 cups appeared, one in the hands of each soldier. One of the men muttered to his companions, "That old witch!"

"Witch!? Why does everyone call me that!?", she asked in a friendly tone, as she poured the drinks into the cups. "Just because I live alone in a house in the woods and do magic… oh…" She smiled sweetly at the men. "I guess that is why!" and giggled.

Fandral held his cup, not drinking the mead, and asked her again. "Have you seen Loki?"

"Oh yes" she said as she poured the last drink. Fandral looked excited. "We made love all night long, and he is in the kitchen making me tea. We were thinking of playing some chess later, or maybe practicing magic. I am particularly interested in self-teleportation."

Fandral angrily emptied his cup and handed it back to her. "We are leaving." He said to his men. As he sat back on his horse, he looked at Sigyn and said, "Remember your loyalties. If you hear anything, you must let us know."

Sigyn looked seriously at him. "I am exceptionally aware of my loyalties. Are you?"

As the men rode out of sight, she cried after them, "Give my love to Thor!" and waved.

And walked back into the cottage.

Loki was shaking with silent laughter. The tears were streaming down his face as he tried to keep from any sound escaping. When she entered the house, he walked up to her and gave her an enormous hug and kiss.

"That was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. You are magical!"

She smiled at him. "You are magical." And kissed him.

After a long while, she pulled away, very seriously, and looked at him in the eyes. "I have done many things for you. Now it is time for you to do something for me." He looked at her in anticipation, knowing what she would say. "You must free the Allfather."

Loki looked at her in silence for a long time. And finally nodded his head.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Freeing the Allfather would not be too difficult, he thought. The real question was whether it was necessary to bring him back to Asgard or just let Thor and the others find him. When discussing it with Sigyn, she agreed that allowing him to be found would be sufficient.

"Where is he?" she asked.

"Midgard", he replied. "He is very well looked after. In a hospital. He has been in Odinsleep all this time. I have been checking in on him from time to time."

They agreed to a plan. To remove the cloaking spell that kept Odin from the watchful eyes of Heimdall, Loki had to be in the Allfather's presence. Despite arguing it was too dangerous, Sigyn insisted on traveling with him, especially when she mentioned she had never been to Midgard.

After practicing her teleportation skills for a couple of days, as well as working on a cloaking spell for her to hide from Heimdall during the trip, they left. The trip there was uneventful. He was able to support her teleportation fairly easily; they first teleported to one of his secret paths to Midgard, and the teleported again to Florida, where the Allfather was being kept.

"Coral Gables Hospital" she read. "Sounds pretty." as they walked into the facility, dressed in typical Midgardian clothing.

Loki walked with confidence towards the long term care unit. One of the nurses recognized him at once. "Mr Elocke! We missed you these last two weeks!"

"Yes, " said Loki. "Business detained me." Pausing he indicated to Sigyn, "But I was able to bring my wife".

Sigyn shook the nurse's hand, who introduced herself as Clara. "Your father in law is doing well" Clara said as she walked them to the room.

In the middle of the private room was the Allfather, looking like he was sleeping. He had a tube in his arm, Loki explained it was for liquid food.

"I am going to fetch the doctor, he has some news about the most recent brain scan." Said Clara as she left.

Sigyn found herself overwhelmed by being in the presence of the Allfather. She sat in a chair next to his bed, and gently touched his arm. It felt cold but soft.

"He is going to be alright, isn't he Loki?"

Sigyn felt Loki's hand on her shoulder. "Yes, he is in the Odinsleep. He has been fine this entire time."

The doctor walked in. "Hi, I am Dr Bracks, Good to see you Mr. Elocke. Mrs. Elocke."

"We have some very promising news. The last set of brain scans showed a slight but definite signs of activity. And it seems to be growing. Each scan shows more activity than the last one."

"He wakes!" Sigyn said, breathlessly.

"Timing is perfect" Loki said.

The doctor looked a bit confused, but continued, "Yes, well, I think there is a good chance that within a few days, if things keep going, we may well see more substantial activity. I mean, we cannot be sure, your father is a pretty unusual case. But he is remarkably strong and fit for a guy who has been in a coma for a year."

Sigyn smiled, "I am not surprised. He is a tough old man."

The doctor turned to leave, but Loki stopped him.

"I want to thank you for all the care you have taken of my father. " The doctor shrugged it off, but Loki continued. "I need to let you know that my brother will be coming soon to take him… back home".

The doctor frowned and said "Oh. Well, sure. Um, we can arrange transport but it may not be a good idea…"

Loki smiled, "It really isn't up to me, unfortunately. I had a family disagreement and my brother seems to have gotten the upper hand", he said wryly, looking at Sigyn. She nodded.

"Well, when he comes, we will work with him to transport your father to, um, wherever he wants." Said the doctor.

"Thanks you." Said Loki.

Sigyn followed the doctor out the door, and once she was out of earshot of the room, she called to him again. "Can I ask you a favor?" The doctor nodded, and she continued. "My husband's brother and he, well, they are not close anymore. He doesn't think much of my husband and thinks he has done a poor job of caring for their father. When he comes, would you mind telling him about what my husband has done, how well he has cared for his father? " The doctor smiled and agreed.

Back in the room, Loki was busy casting a spell. When Sigyn reentered the room, she asked "Is it done?"

"It is decaying. In about 48 hours, it will be decayed enough for Heimdall to track the Allfather down."

"Then it is done." She said matteroffactly, lacing her arms through his.

"Indeed." He said back to her.

* * *

"Sire" said Heimdall. "I think I have found him". Thor sprang to action.

* * *

Thor and his soldiers entered the hospital, not noticing nor caring about the strange looks they were getting about their armor and strange clothing. Followed by security, Thor found his way to the correct floor and started demanding in a loud voice for his father. The nurses were able to figure out where he wanted to go, with everyone watching him nervously.

Thor entered the room, and saw his father sitting up in bed, awake and looking well. Thor and his men got on one knee and paid homage to the Allfather.

As they started to leave the building, Dr. Bracke ran after Thor. "Hey, I need to tell you something about your brother..."

* * *

"It is done." Said Sigyn.

Loki didn't look up from his book. "How do you know?" he asked casually.

"Thor doesn't hide things well. All of Asgard knows. My markers are full of news of his daring rescue of the Allfather from a Midgard prison…"

Loki snorted and turned a page.

"I think we will see him tomorrow, don't you?" Sigyn said.

Loki replied, thoughtfully. "He will probably make sure the Allfather is reestablished at the castle, and then he will head here. It may be tomorrow but it may be in a few hours. "

"Are you ready, my love?" Sigyn looked at the man sitting across from her.

He smiled. "It doesn't matter if I am or not."


End file.
